The World's Most Prestigious Power Poll: Week 15
It's the best part of your week -- the return of The World's Most Prestigious Power Poll! With less than one month to go in the regular season and the playoff picture up in the air, who can explain what's going on to the huddled masses yearning for comprehension? Only The World's Most Prestigious Power Poll. Read and be enlightened...
01. New England Patriots [10-3]: The AFC still belongs to them until someone proves different. [+1]
02. Denver Broncos [10-3]: 8 straight wins. Any Broncos fans out there still pining for Tim Tebow? [+1]
03. Houston Texans [11-2]: Very good on Sunday, but quite literally not ready for prime time. [-2]
04. San Francisco 49ers [9-3-1]: Went to Miami for business, not pleasure -- but got both. [+1]
05. Atlanta Falcons [11-2]: I've called them poseurs and getting dominated by the Panthers doesn't convince me I'm wrong. [-1]
06. New York Giants [8-5]: You never know which Giants team you will see from week to week. The rest of the NFL better hope the Giants team they saw on Sunday doesn't stick around for long. [NC]
07. Green Bay Packers [9-4]: A win over the Bears in Chicago should sew up the division. [NC]
08. Seattle Seahawks [8-5]: 'bout time the east coast media discovered this rapidly-rising team. [NC]
09. Washington Redskins [7-6]: Who else has 2 rookies at QB -- and can win with either one? [+4]
10. Baltimore Ravens [9-4]: Defense gave up 31 points to 2 rookie quarterbacks so they fired the offensive coordinator. Getting healthy will help. [+2]
AP PHOTO
11. Chicago Bears [8-5]: Last week I wrote: Fail every big test they face. Will that continue? Answer: Yes. They've lost 4 of 5. [-2]
12. Pittsburgh Steelers [7-6]: Have now lost to the Raiders, Titans & Chargers. You'll find those teams near the bottom of this list. [-2]
13. Dallas Cowboys [7-6]: A week of tragedy ends with a come-from-behind win on the road. In trouble if they lose Dez. [+2]
14. Indianapolis Colts [9-4]: Numbers rarely look good but they keep winning -- usually with help from their opponent. [+2]
15. Cincinnati Bengals [7-6]: Cannot lose at home with a 9-point lead in the 4th quarter. [-3]
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [6-7]: Built record on beating bad teams. Now they can't even do that. [-2]
17. New Orleans Saints [5-8]: Season-long experiment playing without defense or special teams officially a failure. [NC]
18. St. Louis Rams [6-6-1]: Still clinging to playoff hope thanks to good division & conference record. [NC]
19. Cleveland Browns [5-8]: Young team has won 3 in a row & now gets a shot at another young team -- the Redskins. [+1]
Hannah Foslien/Getty Images North America
20. San Diego Chargers [5-8]: It's December & the Chargers are out of the playoff race. Which means they start playing their best ball. [+1]
21. Minnesota Vikings [7-6]: Adrian Peterson has more rushing yards in last 7 weeks than Christian Ponder has passing yards. That's because A.P is great and Ponder is... not. [+1]
22. Miami Dolphins [5-8]: Have now lost 5 of their last 6. [-3]
23. Carolina Panthers [4-9]: Lost to the worst team last week [Chiefs], beat one of the best this week [Falcons]. Panthers are weird. [+3]
24. Detroit Lions [4-9]: Will anyone be held accountable for this fiasco of a season? [NC]
25. New York Jets [6-7]: Debut of new no-QB offense a success against Jaguars, but how will it fare against an NFL team? [NC]
26. Buffalo Bills [5-8]: Ryan Fitzpatrick finally isn't awful and they lose anyway. [-3]
27. Philadelphia Eagles [4-9]: Congats to Nick Foles, who led a very gutsy come-from-behind win in Tampa. [NC]
28. Tennessee Titans [4-9]: Choking rats had the Colts down and let it slip away. Couldn't even figure out down & distance. [NC]
29. Jacksonville Jaguars [2-11]: Need a new quarterback -- and A LOT of other stuff. [NC]
30. Oakland Raiders [3-10]: Defensive game plan against Broncos relied on Peyton Manning voodoo dolls. [NC]
31. Kansas City Chiefs [2-11]: I have one piece of good news for the Chiefs: At least you're not the... [+1]
32. Arizona Cardinals [4-9]: Owner should fire everyone -- including himself. [-1]
